Chapter 69 – The Truth No One Ever Told

Chapter 69 – The Truth No One Ever Told
I had never seen my father look old.
Not truly.
Dom Aragão had always been a force of nature.
The most powerful man in the room.
The most feared.
The most respected.
The hardest to bring down.
But that night...
Sitting alone in front of me...
For the first time, he looked like nothing more than a man.
And maybe that was what frightened me.
The room was silent.
Romeu had left.
David had too.
Even Betina understood that this was a moment that belonged only to the two of us.
Father and daughter.
No witnesses.
No interruptions.
No escape.
“So?”
I asked.
My father kept staring at his own hands for a few seconds.
“So what?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Dad.”
“Right.”
He sighed.
Slowly.
Like someone preparing for surgery without anesthesia.
“Where do I begin?”
“With the truth.”
The answer came out harsher than I intended.
But I didn't regret it.
Enough with half-truths.
Enough with secrets.
Enough with lies.
My father nodded slowly.
As if he accepted it.
As if he knew he deserved it.
“Your mother's name was Helena.”
I smiled without humor.
“I know my mother's name.”
“Do you know who she was?”
The question left me silent.
Because no.
I didn't.
Maybe I never had.
My father rested his elbows on his knees.
“When I met your mother, she was already engaged.”
My heart raced.
“To Fercondiny's father.”
He nodded.
The confirmation still hurt.
Even though I knew.
Even though I suspected.
Even after everything.
It still hurt.
“Did they love each other?”
I asked.
The answer took time.
Too much time.
“Yes.”
That single word hit me right in the chest.
My father closed his eyes.
“And I knew that.”
Silence filled the room.
Because that was the hardest part.
Not what had happened.
But the fact that he knew.
“Then why?”
My voice came out quietly.
“Because I was selfish.”
The answer caught me off guard.
“What?”
“Because I saw her.
I fell in love.
And I decided I wanted her.”
Just like that.
Simple.
Cruel.
Honest.
My father let out a bitter laugh.
“I wish I could say there was some beautiful justification.
But there wasn't.
I wanted your mother.
And I did everything I could to win her over.”
“Even destroy an engagement?”
He lowered his head.
“Yes.”
My God.
I didn't know what to do with that information.
Because it was horrible.
But at the same time...
For the first time, he wasn't trying to defend himself.
He wasn't trying to seem better.
He wasn't trying to lie.
He was simply telling the truth.
“And my mother?”
I asked.
“Did she choose you?”
My father took a long time to answer.
“Yes.”
That answer surprised me.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then why did she seem so unhappy?”
The question slipped out before I could stop it.
And immediately I realized the damage it had done.
My father froze.
Completely still.
For several seconds.
“Because bad choices have consequences too.”
My heart tightened.
“Did she regret it?”
The words came out almost as a whisper.
My father took so long to answer that I thought he wouldn't.
But he did.
“I believe she did.”
The words broke something inside me.
Because I had always imagined my mother as a victim.
Or a heroine.
Or a villain.
But never as someone who was simply human.
Capable of making mistakes.
Capable of regret.
Capable of suffering because of her own choices.
“She loved all of you.”
My father continued.
“You and David were the most important thing in her life.”
“And Fercondiny?”
The question fell between us.
Heavy.
Painful.
Necessary.
My father closed his eyes.
“That was her greatest sin.
And mine too.”
The tears came immediately.
Because I already knew the answer.
Even before he said it.
“She abandoned him.”
My father nodded.
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
My God.
Fercondiny was right.
All of it was true.
Every bit of it.
The abandoned child.
The boy who lost his father.
The man consumed by revenge.
It was all true.
“When his father died...”
My father continued.
“I tried to help.
But it was already too late.
He hated me.
And he had every reason to.”
I remained silent.
Because I agreed.
And because this was perhaps the first time in his life that my father admitted he had been wrong.
Truly.
“Then you met Silvia.”
My heart tightened once again.
“You separated them.”
He smiled without humor.
“I tried to.”
“Tried?”
“Fercondiny is stubborn.”
For the first time during the entire conversation, I almost smiled.
Because that was true.
Absolutely true.
“But yes.
I tried.
Because I knew who he was.
I knew what he carried inside him.
I knew what could happen.”
“And it did.”
My father nodded.
“Yes.
It did.”
Silence returned.
But now it was different.
Less heavy.
Sadder.
“So that's it?”
I asked.
“That's it.”
I looked at that man.
At the man who raised me.
Who loved me.
Who had also destroyed lives.
And I realized something I had never realized before.
Both things could be true at the same time.
My father was capable of love.
And he was also capable of causing pain.
My father wasn't a monster.
But he wasn't innocent either.
He was simply human.
Painfully human.
“I'm disappointed.”
The words came out quietly.
Honestly.
He nodded.
“I know.”
“And I'm angry.”
“I know.”
“And maybe I need some time.”
My father smiled.
A sad smile.
Small.
“I know that too.”
The tears finally fell.
Because I didn't want to be angry with him.
I didn't.
But I was.
“Mikaella.”
I looked up.
“Yes?”
His voice cracked.
For the first time.
“I loved your mother.
Even after she stopped loving me.
Even after everything fell apart.
Even when she blamed me.
Even when she hated me.
I loved your mother until the very last day.”
My heart tightened.
Because suddenly...
I understood what had been frightening me.
It wasn't my mother's past.
It wasn't Fercondiny.
It wasn't my father.
It was something else.
A question.
One single question.
What if one day Romeu stopped loving me too?